Friday, October 2, 2009

What are Crystal Singing Bowls and what is their use anyways?

Well, most of us might have come across a term called as "Crystal Singing Bowls" like I did a few days ago and wouldn't be knowing what is their real use was. First of all, these are real bowls which have been in existence for well over 3000 years ago in most places of India.

But the bowls in their current shape has been originally date to somewhere around 1000 years back in parts of current Tibet. In Tibet, there is a sect called as "Bon" which is part of Shamans who use the Crystal Singing Bowls in their cultural rituals. The bowls that are used for the rituals are usually made of an alloy of either nine or seven or five metals like gold, silver, tin, copper, iron, mercury, etc. There is also a popular ritualistic belief in ancient India that Singing bowls made out of meteorites were very holy.

Even today you can find Singing Bowls made of these very same metals in parts of Tibet. But they are very highly priced due to the antique value that they carry. Crystal Singing Bowls come as a very perfect alternative to the original metal masterpieces. These are carved out of a single rock of crystal and hence each piece has it's own distinct look and feel. For mass production we find crystal bowls made out of composite minerals that mimic the crystal ones. So you may need to look out for the fakes and choose the right ones.

Well, you may ask - why are these bowls really used? Crystal Singing Bowls are mainly used for meditation purposes. The soothing music helps the mediator to experience more completeness in meditation and attain a higher state and calm.